Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction thriller film directed, co-produced, and co-written by J. J. Abrams. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and tells the story of a group of young teenagers who are filming a super 8 movie when a train derails and unleashes a dangerous creature.
Super 8 is a fun and exciting movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The acting is great, and the special effects are top-notch. The story is original and well-written, and the suspense will keep you guessing until the very end. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good thriller.
The new blockbuster sci-fi from JJ Abrams is finally with us. After having to put up with speculation after speculation with regards to what this movie is really all about, we can now give you the full and straight review of one of this years most anticipated titles.
Super 8 starts off with a reeling young lad named Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), his mother has been killed in an accident and he’s trying to come to terms with his loss alongside his father Jackson. When out one night filming an amateur movie with his friends he witnesses a military train crash caused by one of the local science teachers. Strange things start to happen around town just soon after the crash and everyone is at a loss to explain it. Of course the train was transporting an extraterrestrial monster that’s none too chuffed with the way he’s been treated. Through the course of the movie young Joe and friends have to work out what’s going on and not only avoid the monster but also the less that caring military.
There’s been some high expectations for Super 8. Coming from J.J. Abrams the man who brought us Lost and Cloverfield there was always the issue of whether was Super 8 going to live up to his past record. That’s a tough thing to tell. Though cutting to the chase i can say that Super 8 is, at the very least, OK.
I loved Lost, though i hate the series ending. I thought Cloverfield was fun, though the shaky cam made me wanna puke. Super 8 suffers from neither of the things I hated about the previously mentioned show/movie (thankfully). The camera/ cinematography work on Super 8 is good and the ending which i won’t spoil, isn’t full of plot holes. Though there is still mystery left for us to ponder. There’s also been speculation about the monster in this movie, if it was somehow connected to the Cloverfield monster. Well according to J.J. Abrams it’s not, though it does look very similar to the Cloverfield monster. That’s because both of them were designed by the same guy.
Super 8 has been compared to Steven Spielberg’s ET as well. Yeah i can definitely see the similarities, although Super 8 is a bit darker on it’s take of childhood life in an extraordinary situation. Most of, if not all of the child actors in this movie are really well suited to their respective parts and it makes the movie that much better for it. The acting quality in general is good, though it’s not Oscar material.
The SFX are top notch, you’d be hard pressed to find a movie that looks better than Super 8 quite frankly. We expected this so no surprise.
Being a family oriented movie it’s not really gory but it is surprisingly scary at points. The clever use of suspense and sound had me jumping out of the seat (cola all over me, meh), though if you plan to watch this later at home, you’ll need to turn the volume up to get the same effect.
The monster is creepy, yet intriguing simultaneously. It’s certainly way above the average man in the plastic suit/ CGI nonsense that we usually have to put up with.
Super 8 is one of the movies that catches the childs imagination in all of us. It’s not really a serious movie, just like most sci-fi isn’t serious but never the less i would recommend it to all sci-fi lovers out there. Just remember this movie focus’s more on the kids than it does on the monster, it’s their movie. If you can dig that then i think your going to have fun with Super 8. Recommended.
Synopsis
In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. As they investigate, they uncover a mysterious connection between the crash and a series of unexplained events–including disappearances, strange sightings, and mysterious sounds–that have been occurring in their town.
As they piece together the clues, they come to realize that something truly horrifying is happening in their town, and that whoever or whatever is behind it is using their movie as a way to communicate with them. With time running out, they must find a way to stop it before it’s too late.
Super 8 is a heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Movie Details
Director: J.J. Abrams
Writer: J.J. Abrams
Actors: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler
Release Year: 2011